Harwell 5 - 16 Wheatley

With the rain pouring down at Harwell Science Park the day was started with conversations of ‘keeping it simple’, ‘trying nothing stupid’ and ‘keeping things close’ being the main topics.

Warm up confirmed the wet conditions would be an issue and with the decision being made during practice lineouts, Sean ‘Slippery thighs’ O’Leary and Michael Ridge became as easy to control in the air as trying to catch a Salmon jumping upstream, that it was a day to be lifting by the shorts.

From the first whistle the hits and runs came in hard from both sides, with each player using the waterlogged pitch as their own personal slip ‘n slide, gaining extra meter as they hit the ground. Although the conditions were affecting passing efficiency, Wheatley strung together phases of play to work their way down into Harwell’s half. A quick offload from Andy Tippet allowed Alex Acklam to gain yards up to Harwell’s 5 meter line, being brought down yards in front of the line. A quick recycle found its way to the awaiting hands of Adam Miur who finished the job. A missed conversion kept the score at 5-0.

As the game continued Harwell proved they were keen not to back down to the challenge and pushed their way into the Wheatley half. The composed defensive line of Wheatley absorbed the Harwell pressure as they found themselves pushing each wave of attack back off their own try line. With Harwell totting up the phases, Michael ‘Moose’ Ridge’s thirst for some possession got the better of him. 5m from the line and found offside at a ruck disrupting the play, the ref had no option but to give him 10minutes to think about what he’d done.

Down to 14 men and determined not to concede any points, Wheatley dug deep, managing to extinguish Harwell’s phase of prolonged pressure. Possession now in the hands of the men in purple, it was time fight fire with fire and attacked back. Forwards and backs alike ran their hard lines causing discombobulation throughout the Harwell defence with every hit. As the phases came together, Alex Acklam had a feeling of ‘I’ve been here before’ as he found himself 5 meters out from the opposition try line, ‘this could be my moment’ ran through his head as pumped his legs into contact seeing the line in sight he dove for it.. falling short.. again. A quick recycle of the ball allowed Duncan Dingle to cross the line and bringing score to 10-0.

Waves of pressure came from both sides for the rest of the half, with plays just not quite linking together as it seemed no one wanted to keep hold of the ball. A penalty in Harwell’s half gave Duncan Dingle the perfect chance to kick for goal and bring the score to 13-0 at half time.

As the second half kicked off, the pouring rain turned to light sunshine giving a false sense of security that now the ball would be easier to handle. When it was found that this was not the case, it seemed that scrums would be the theme of this half.

The scrappiness of play gave an even half. Scrums leant in favour of Wheatley, while Harwell gained yards through their rolling maul off of lineouts. One such maul began the phases of play that produced the only try of the half. A momentary lack of concentration in the Purple defence when defending their own line allowed Harwell to force their way over to make the score 13-5.

The game was rounded off with a penalty kick from Duncan Dingle that brought the score to 16-5. Other highlights of the half were a rendition of ‘Let it go’ sung by Moose as a Harwell kick rolled it’s way past Wheatley’s dead ball line and a quick lineout that Luke Agius would like to forget.

All in all a competitive and enjoyable game played it good spirits in tough conditions. We wish Harwell all the best for the rest of their season.

MoM – Pete Knipe
DoD – Captain Pooch